the PRJCT.:R chronicles (iMod.:R BUILD UP)

Hey all-
In an effort to become a permanent fixture here instead of just lurking around, I thought I'd share the details of my new build which will be an official VW Vortex project.

I've spent quite a bit of time around VAG over the past 6 years and had two decently involved project builds. I started with my ABT kitted, 2006 Audi A3 that was running at APR Stage 2 power levels:

Then for a very brief 6 months I had a 2008 Porsche Cayman which had no mods worth discussing here:

After the Porsche I got the 2009 TTS and I really kind of went ape ship with it:

The car was hitting 407 crank on the dyno as a Stage 3 car and the list of mods is a bit too long to bother getting into here. The fun part of that build was that I created a webisode series that outlined the mods and why I chose to use certain bits in my build. I wanted to throw a different spin on the whole "build thread" deal and that is when I came up with the video documentation idea. Long story shortened, the guys at Vortex Media gave it a home and it ran for 14 webisodes, called Project TTS/SF.

Recently, some things shifted in my household and I wanted to go back to a more reasonable monthly payment on a car, in order to get some priorities straight. Coming from a car like the TTS meant the new car would have some BIG shoes to fill. What else out there is an awd whip, pushing over 250hp, turbo'd, highly tunable and still retains a classically German quality interior?

This is the answer. Some would debate this statement, but to me this is the ultimate Golf. I have HUGE respect for what the MK1-to-MK5 owners have been able to do as far as power and style with Golfs and GTIs through the years. Particularly the MK4 R32 folks.. This thing though is a mix of everything great about Audi and Volkswagen ingredient, by ingredient blended to perfection. Two-door or four-door as an option in America for the first time? I think VW knew how sick this car is and I for one am very thankful that we got the chance to buy these in the US in our choice of form factor instead of only "1 flavor".

For any of you that ever checked out the TTS series, you'll know that I only work with companies that I personally feel are the best out there for their particular offerings. I put forward one guys perspective about tuning and am still learning like all of us here. I'm not a guru. I'm not in the industry. I'm not being paid by anyone to share my opinions about the mods I do to the car. My hope is that I maybe educate a few people through my research and create some good quality film content for my friends at Vortex to share with you all. We are calling this 6-part series "PRJCT .:R" and if all goes according to plan the first installment will be live on VW Vortex sometime in April 2012.

Finally, my plans for this car. I met a pretty cool cat on VW Vortex about a month ago, called TEFF. Many of you know his build entitled "Golf R from Romania" which is one of the more intense power builds I've ever seen. He's been helping me via email to formulate a plan to safely make some big horsepower numbers. As far as style, I am definitely keeping my eye on what all you on the East Coast and obviously Florida are doing. I hope to grab a bit of inspiration from both of those spots, and overseas in the style I throw at this car during the build.

I'm pretty hyped about this new adventure and look forward to meeting a bunch of you out here on the West Coast and back East where my extended family is from near the NY/Jersey border.

HRE's I will, LOL! I am actually typing this from their conference room where we are checking offset and determining fitment right now, here in San Diego. I'm seriously drooling like an idiot in their showroom over all the wheel pron.

Originally Posted by rabbit07

congrats on your new R. look forward to seeing what plans you have for it.

Thanks man. It seems like it's going to be a fun build, so I'm glad to be starting all over again.

HRE's I will, LOL! I am actually typing this from their conference room where we are checking offset and determining fitment right now, here in San Diego. I'm seriously drooling like an idiot in their showroom over all the wheel pron.

Thanks man. It seems like it's going to be a fun build, so I'm glad to be starting all over again.

I know
I saw their post on the book a few minutes ago and said to myself
"No how an' tha hell did this slip by me"

AWE Turboback/GIAC

Originally Posted by remmyGLI

We will need some kind of shuttle with this crew. The concept of moderation seems to elude most of us, especially when are all together.

Originally Posted by sims159915

I need two tires mounted. Anyone do these things? I pay with vodka, hand jobs and disgrace.

I ran these before on my APR'd Stg3 TTS and the two massive benefits I noticed were cold-starts were cut down from 7 seconds of turn-over to 3 seconds consistently, which is obviously less stress on the ignition system over time. Also since its an amplified spark it accelerates the ignition and combustion process. In real life what that meant to me was that the already seamless APR stage3 system was further refined. Smoother power delivery is a nice added bonus.

Originally Posted by Peteski

Jason, You mind sharing where you got your set from?
Peter

Pete, I got mine from Vivid in AZ, but you can use any of their distributors in the USA:

I ran these before on my APR'd Stg3 TTS and the two massive benefits I noticed were cold-starts were cut down from 7 seconds of turn-over to 3 seconds consistently, which is obviously less stress on the ignition system over time. Also since its an amplified spark it accelerates the ignition and combustion process. In real life what that meant to me was that the already seamless APR stage3 system was further refined. Smoother power delivery is a nice added bonus.

Thanks for the explanation. Always good to learn new things. I'll be watching this build closely.

The reflectors all over this car would make sense on a friggen' school bus but it seems like a bit of overkill on the .:R. Before anyone says anything, I understand the value in them as a safety measure etc, but I still think they are obnoxious and whats worse, they kill the beautiful lines of the MK6. I resolved the issue by getting the VS Cov.:R Ups (master pack) for the .:R The company that makes them is in my neighborhood and they were pretty inexpensive so I just went with it. They do either smoked or solids for all the plastic lenses on our car.

Since he's close by I had him install those and smoke out my headlights too, brah! Looks way meaner now. I like how the smoked tints dull down the plastic-y look of the lenses. He makes these packs in all kinds of colors and tints.

Hit up Lyle @ Vinyl Styles for more info. He'll sort out pricing etc and they are all available now.vinylstyles@gmail.com

Here is a vid of the install on my car. I whipped it together in a half day but it still gives a good idea of how easy it is to install.

Another brown box delivered by a man in a brown uniform, driving a brown truck. I am reeeaaaally psyched about this one. I was watching Dieselgeek back when I had the DSG in my TTS and couldn't utilize this bit of kit. Now I can!